Gender and Transgender in Modern Paganism

"The events at Pantheacon 2011 cause a storm that reverberated across the planet, with discussion on many websites and mailing lists, and even a mention in the UK's Guardian newspaper.

This book was created in the hope of extending the debate and bringing it to a wider audience. We have included articles from people in both major camps, who have explained their positions powerfully and sincerely. This book is not an easy read -- much of it will be painful, and there is probably no one in the wider pagan community who will not be offended by at least something in here. Articles have been edited only for grammar and typography -- you will find honest words, entirely uncensored. This, however, is the point of the exercise.

When nothing is said, nothing will be heard, and nothing can change."

From the preface:

"This book is a result of wanting to make sure that these voices are heard. It is also a result of a promise to ourselves to continue the work we started. The voices you will read here are from both cisgendered and transgendered, male and female, queer and straight, old and young. We present these essays as they were sent to us, with no commentary. We give these words to the community as a way to build understanding and to give people the opportunity to decide for themselves how to act.

It is our will to create change, but how that will happen will not be decided by a select few, but by our community as a whole. As paganism comes more and more into its own, we need to learn how to work and live together with understanding and respect. If we do not learn from the mistakes of other religions and put our own house in order, we will not survive."

The text of this book is released on a strictly not-for-profit basis under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike (CC BY-NC-SA) License (see page 127 for the full text of the license deed). Proceeds, if any, will be donated to relevant charities.

Text copyright (C) 2011, 2012 – ownership remains with the authors.

Cover art: Lilith, by Kat Lunoe (C) 2011, all rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the copyright holder.